Jason Jones

Exceptional. Gifted. Incredible. Each of these words has been used to describe the amazing talents of Jason “Jay” Jones. As a musician, he’s a “drummer extraordinaire”. With a God-given talent that has seen him play for the best in mainstream and gospel music, this young man is quickly finding himself on the path to being one of today’s hottest instrumentalists.

Artists like Yolanda Adams, Richard Smallwood, Byron Cage, Canton Jones, CeCe Winans, Vickie Winans, LaShun Pace, Terrence Richburg, Marcus Mitchell, Marcus Johnson, The Gap Band and Floetry, are just a few of the artists who have been blessed by his skill and expertise on the drums.

One could say that he was destined to answer the call of music. Born in Columbus, Ohio and growing up in Largo, Maryland, Jason was part of a Christian household overflowing with the sounds of music. His father, James Jones, was the keyboardist for multiple GRAMMY Award winning gospel pioneer Shirley Caesar. As a youngster, after “honing his skills” on pots and pans, little Jay made his “church debut” as a drummer at the tender age of 5. “Music is on both sides of my family,” explains Jones. “On my mother’s side, I have singers and on my father’s side, there are singers and musicians,” says Jason.

As he matured, he branched out musically and was exposed to other genres of music including R&B, jazz, pop, rock, Latin and even country. A self-taught musician, Jason learned how to “keep it in the pocket” and continued to develop and craft his innate ability. He joined a group called Oktbtwrld where the opportunities to gig were many. He “caught the bug” and came to the realization that drumming is what he really wanted to do.

He’s patterned himself after some of the greats like Vinnie Colaiuta, Dennis Chambers, Calvin Napper, Teddy Campbell, George “Spanky” McCurdy, Gordan Campbell and many others. Watching these greats has helped him reach the top of his game. “For me, I love to play and I love the camaraderie that comes from playing with other musicians,” he says. “But ultimately, I know that my ability is simply a God-given talent. It’s something I don’t take for granted.”